President Barack Obama returned to the Coachella Valley on Friday in preparation for a two-day summit with Southeastern Asian leaders that begins on Monday.

Before touching down at Palm Springs International Airport from Los Angeles, Air Force One diverted slightly to fly over part of the nearly 1.8 million acres of desert and mountains that Obama designated as three national monuments on Friday.

The Sand to Snow National Monument will stretch from the desert floor near Palm Springs to the peak of Mount San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino National Forest, comprising 154,000 acres. The Mojave Trails National Monument, which spans 1.6 million acres, will surround historic Route 66, between the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park. The Castle Mountains National Monument will fill a 21,000-acre gap in the Mojave National Preserve, protecting a rare desert grassland teeming with Joshua trees.

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“The main thing I told him was how delighted most of us here in California were that he’s designated the three new national monuments … and he was really proud of what he was able to do,” Moon said afterward.

Obama then boarded a black SUV and left in a motorcade that promptly drove to Porcupine Creek, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison's expansive Rancho Mirage estate where Obama has golfed with friends on previous desert visits. The president golfed with the usual trio of friends he's known since prep school in Hawaii.

Obama has no public events scheduled this weekend, but he's in the valley for another summit at the Sunnylands Estate in Rancho Mirage, this time to meet with leaders from 10 Southeast Asian nations to discuss North Korea, China and trade, among other issues. While his weekend schedule hasn't been announced, previous desert trips would suggest he'll continue hitting the links. In the past, he's also golfed at Sunnylands.

After golfing at Porcupine Creek, Obama returned to the motorcade Friday evening and headed to Thunderbird Heights, where he has previously stayed at the home of interior designer Michael Smith and U.S. Ambassador to Spain James Costos.

Air Force One flew from Los Angeles, where the president held several Democratic fundraisers on Thursday night and filmed an episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." On the show, which will air Friday, Obama watched a surprise recorded Valentine's Day poem from wife Michelle Obama and provided her a Valentine's message as well with a Barry White song playing in the background. In his message, which came off as a bit tongue-in-cheek, the president said "Michelle, this Valentine's Day, I'm going to treat you right."

The first lady did not disembark Air Force One with the president and it's not clear whether she'll join him over the weekend. Of Obama's previous five visits, Michelle Obama has joined him once. That was in June 2014.

Plane watching

Dozens of Coachella Valley residents and tourists found vantage points near the airport to watch Air Force One land on Friday.

ayors Moon and Hobart hope Obama decides to settle in the Coachella Valley when the president leaves the White House in January at the end of his second term.

"I did tell him, that although he’s been visiting Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs is a much better place to live,” Moon said, laughing.

“With respect to where he’s going to live, I don’t want that to go unchallenged," Hobart said. “I just let him know that we don’t have to sell it – Rancho Mirage sells itself,” he quipped.

“One of the things that I think we both observed was what a genuine person he was,” Hobart said. “He wasn’t trying to pull away from us … he stayed there and talked about the subjects we were engaging him with. That to me is extremely impressive.”

Hobart said Obama’s multiple visits to Sunnylands have given the city invaluable exposure.

President Obama arrived in Palm Springs on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.
Robert Hopwood, The Desert Sun

“From Rancho Mirage’s perspective, because of the retreat at Sunnylands, probably nothing has done more to put Rancho Mirage on the world map than having these dignitaries from foreign countries here visiting, talking about serious issues,” he said. “For us, that is the biggest single gift that we get through a president who’s come here six times."

After Chinese President Xi Jinping was here, “We had a significant number of increase of visitors from China just wanting to see the place that their president visited.”

Obama's expected to leave the desert on Tuesday afternoon following the summit.